Words.
"Given that many Americans are recovering not only from Thanksgiving bloat but also from the empty media calories of last month's "balloon boy" reality-TV saga, the Salahi scandal smells distinctly like leftovers. Still, the public remains enthralled by this telegenic middle-aged couple. Like the vehicular form of crashing, event crashing stirs up plenty of rubbernecking.
Whether it's the nattily attired Salahis, the goofballery of the "Wedding Crashers" heroes or those Ivy League impostors we hear about every few years, there's something about showing up in places you don't belong that makes people slow down and stare. But unlike car crashes, which conjure thoughts like "Thank God that wasn't me," a party crash, for some, is almost aspirational. If those people could go to that event, we think to ourselves, anyone can! If that joker who didn't even take the SAT can wind up at Princeton, why can't I? If people like the Salahis can march up to the White House and have dinner, why am I wasting time baking ziti for the church potluck?
Such questions might be petty and gratuitous, but they're also quintessentially American. That's because they embrace the notion that social boundaries can be broken down. They reinforce the belief that, regardless of your origins or milieu, you can make it to the big time if you just have enough gumption.
...ultimately, crashing is less about challenging the status quo than it is about fitting into it and appeasing it. It's not an act of rebellion, but the very opposite: It's about passing. The Salahis weren't clever infiltrators or populist revolutionaries. They had already started up the ladder, and they had the resources to fake their way up one more notch.
Until they started bragging on Facebook, they even proved they could act the part. But that's hardly the same as having an invitation in hand, let alone the guts to drop the act and storm the barricades."
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